Ousted Thai PM denies extrajudicial killing allegations

Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has denied allegations of extrajudicial killings during his premiership, his lawyer said.

The denial follows complaints by a rights group that the Premier League had allowed a man who presided over extrajudicial killings to buy Manchester City.

“The people who accused him have not been able to come up with any evidence whatsoever to prove that he ordered extrajudicial killings, whether it be in the war on Muslim insurgency or the war on drugs,” said Noppadon Pattama, Thaksin’s lawyer and de facto spokesman in Thailand.

Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in October. He faces a series of corruption charges relating to his five years in power, and human rights groups have accused Thaksin of presiding over extrajudicial killings.

Thaksin, who denies all the charges, took control of Manchester City in early July.

Human Rights Watch complained on Monday that Thaksin was able to pass the league’s “fit and proper persons” test, which can be used to decide on suitable directors and owners of clubs.